Port Augusta to Marree

On Tuesday 12 June we set off for the North. We had arranged to meet some friends (Shirl and Geoff Harvey) who had been in the area for a few days. We planned to go to Marree with them and fly over the lake together. The rendezvous was the caravan park which is located on the highway just north of the town of Hawker. On the way there we had an SMS from them suggesting we have a look at the ruins of Kanyaka, a station homestead dating from the 19C.

It has rained heavily in this district this year and the growth must be rather like the scene that attracted the family in the first place. Now they are just sad scenes of lost dreams.

While we were in Hawker, after exploring the parts we remembered, Pete went into the diorama to see the extraordinary 360deg painting of Wilpena Pound while Mare looked for a chemist. She was sent on a "short" walk to the hospital (and I can tell you she won't forget her medication again soon) and was rescued by Geoff Harvey. For various reasons associated with the complex regulations surrounding prescriptions we had to go back and visit the hospital twice again and then wait until the items came up from Quorn.

Marree is a real "frontier town" from the wild west. I expected to see John Wayne any minute.

The two-storey building on the right is the pub.

Although it doesn't look like it, a storm blew up that night so we postponed our flight for a day. I will leave you in suspenders for the details of the flight in the next post. :)